Career
Lanker died at his home in Eugene, Oregon on March 13, 2011 after a brief bout of pancreatic cancer. He was 63. His work appeared in Life and Sports Illustrated, as well as book projects, including I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America, and Track Town, United States of America. He was the graphics director for The Register-Guard newspaper in Eugene from 1974 to 1982. Lanker is the father of musician Dustin Lanker.